VTechWorks Repository :: Browsing by Author "Lemaire, Robin Hargroder"

Browsing by Author "Lemaire, Robin Hargroder"

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An Assessment of Government Capacity Building to Restrict the Marketing of Unhealthy Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverage Products to Children in the Region of the Americas
Rincón-Gallardo Patiño, Sofía; da Silva Gomes, Fabio; Constantinou, Steven; Lemaire, Robin Hargroder; Hedrick, Valisa E.; Serrano, Elena L.; Kraak, Vivica (MDPI, 2021-08-06)
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Strategic Plan 2020–2025 committed to reduce children’s consumption of energy-dense nutrient-poor food and beverage products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) and promote healthy eating patterns to reduce malnutrition in all forms. This paper describes the capacity-building needs in PAHO’s Member States to restrict the marketing of HFSS food and beverages to children. We asked Ministries of Health officials or national institutes/departmental representatives (n = 35) to complete a 28-item web-based survey (January to July 2020). Capacity-building needs were assessed using an adapted version of the World Health Organization’s government capacity-building framework with three modules: public health infrastructure, policies and information systems. Notable achievements for the PAHO’s Plan of Action were identified. State representatives reported strong infrastructure and information systems; however, policy improvements are needed to increase comprehensive national responses. These include using a constitutional health and human rights approach within the policies, policies that document conflict of interest from non-state actors, and strengthening regulatory oversight for digital media platforms. These findings provide baseline data and we suggest priorities for further action to strengthen national governments’ capacity-building and to accelerate the development, implementation, and monitoring systems to restrict the marketing of HFSS food and non-alcoholic beverages to children in the region of the Americas.
Challenges and Opportunities for Member States to Implement Resolution WHA63.14 to Restrict the Marketing of Unhealthy Food and Non-alcoholic Beverage Products to Children to Decrease Global Obesity and Non-Communicable Disease Risks by 2025
Rincon Gallardo Patino, Sofia (Virginia Tech, 2020-11-05)
The widespread marketing of food and beverage products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) es is a significant driver of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This PhD dissertation examined the factors related to Member States' capacity and actions to fully implement the 2010 World Health Assembly's Resolution WHA63.14 to restrict the marketing of HFSS food and non-alcoholic beverage products to children up to 18 years by 2025. The first study describes the capacity-building needs of Ministries of Health (MoH) to implement the Resolution WHA63.14. The research used a 28-item web-based survey administered to representatives of MoH from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) region (n= 35). A government capacity-building and integrated marketing communications (IMC) frameworks guided this research. The second study examined the government policies to restrict the marketing of HFSS food and beverage products in a purposive sample of countries in the PAHO region (n=14). The WHO policy and IMC frameworks were used to develop a responsible policy index (RESPI). A web-based platform was developed that uses data visualization tools to depict the results. The third study explored the dimensions of power in the Mexican social networks of stakeholders that influenced the policy-making process that enabled the government to enact front-of-pack (FOP) warning labels on HFSS food and beverage products marketed to children and adults in 2020. The study followed a case study approach, using semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, and guided by the Gaventa's power cube framework. Social Network Analyses were conducted using the UCINET software (version 6) that measured centrality, factions and quadratic assignment procedures (QAP). These PhD studies applied several theoretically grounded conceptual frameworks related to nutrition governance that allowed me to draw conclusions from empirical and published evidence to develop and implement comprehensive policies to restrict the marketing of HFSS food and beverage products to children. Results may inform government agencies, civil society organizations, academic researchers, private foundations and industry actors about the areas needed for policy improvement and promising or best practices that should be adopted to implement Resolution WHA63.14 to reduce children's future risks of obesity and diet-related NCDs by 2025.
A distinctive organizational control practice: Geographic personnel rotation
Onder, Seref G. (Virginia Tech, 2015-07-09)
Organizational control is a fundamental process which ensures organizations achieve their goals. The importance and difficulty increase when the organization is a law enforcement agency. Control within an organization can be implemented in several different ways. Regular rotations and transfers of personnel is one of the control mechanisms employed by organizations to direct, motivate and encourage employees to adhere to organizational standards and objectives. The Turkish National Police (TNP) rotates and transfers police officers geographically while providing security services throughout the country. Geographic personnel rotation (GPR) is a human resource management policy of the TNP which bans home city deployment and obligates officers to transfer regularly for various deployment periods and in differing regions. The research examines geographic personnel rotation policy as an organizational control mechanism. To help better understand GPR's impact on control, the study examined data collected from interviews with human resource managers and police chiefs who implement the policy, from participant observation, and from documents and archival records. GPR is a distinct control mechanism the TNP employs to maximize personnel performance and minimize police deviance. More significantly, GPR allows the TNP to reward and punish employees depending on their performance, as well as detect and reduce deviation from organizational norms. GPR also affects the formation of police identity, which may increase or decrease commitment to the organization based on the perceived fairness of the practice.
Effects of Menu Labeling Policies on Transnational Restaurant Chains to Promote a Healthy Diet: A Scoping Review to Inform Policy and Research
Rincón-Gallardo Patiño, Sofía; Zhou, Mi; da Silva Gomes, Fabio; Lemaire, Robin Hargroder; Hedrick, Valisa E.; Serrano, Elena L.; Kraak, Vivica (MDPI, 2020-05-26)
There is insufficient evidence that restaurant menu labeling policies are cost-effective strategies to reduce obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Evidence suggests that menu labeling has a modest effect on calories purchased and consumed. No review has been published on the effect of menu labeling policies on transnational restaurant chains globally. This study conducted a two-step scoping review to map and describe the effect of restaurant menu labeling policies on menu reformulation. First, we identified national, state, and municipal menu labeling policies in countries from global databases. Second, we searched four databases (i.e., PubMed, CINHAL/EBSCO, Web of Science, and Google Scholar) for peer-reviewed studies and gray-literature sources in English and Spanish (2000–2020). Step 1 identified three voluntary and eight mandatory menu labeling policies primarily for energy disclosures for 11 upper-middle and high-income countries, but none for low- or middle-income countries. Step 2 identified 15 of 577 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The analysis showed reductions in energy for newly introduced menu items only in the United States. We suggesr actions for governments, civil society organizations, and the restaurant businesses to develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive menu labeling policies to determine whether these may reduce obesity and NCD risks worldwide.
Enabling, Managing, and Leveraging Organizational Learning for Innovation - A Case Study of the USAID Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research Program Network
Weimer, Scott W. (Virginia Tech, 2018-06-18)
As public agencies have implemented programs to respond to natural disasters, alleviate poverty, provide food security, and address other wicked problems, the organizational structuring of public sector program management has changed in response. The federal agencies responsible for U.S. foreign policy, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), have embraced multi-organizational, cross-sector network collaboration as part of their core missions. The strategic transition of USAID to an increased use of network models for program implementation raises questions concerning the ability of the agency, through its partners, to foster organizational learning in this network setting. Ensuring the ability to utilize knowledge and ways of knowing generated through program activity is a critical factor to sustaining the long-term capacity of government agencies and their partners to pursue solutions for these complex global problems. The research reported in this dissertation focuses on network administrative organizations (NAOs) delegated official responsibility for the management of government-funded multi-institutional programs, to understand how organizational learning for innovation takes place in an NAO-led network. This research explored the USAID Feed the Future Innovation Labs for Collaborative Research program focusing on two comparable case studies representative of NAO-led goal-directed networks, the Integrated Pest Management and Horticulture Innovation Labs. The Crossan et al. (1999) 4I framework on organizational learning served as the primary theoretical foundation for addressing how NAOs enable, manage, and leverage organizational learning associated with the boundary work of their program team representatives to innovate as networks. In the two cases studied, the findings indicated that learning practices flowed as anticipated within and across the program network for program and administrative related knowledge, but flowed in a number of different directions for knowledge related to addressing novel problems. Additionally, the NAOs' ability to institutionalize knowledge generated through the work of program teams and individual members followed unpredictable patterns and was influenced by the presence of knowledge and learning boundaries within the network. The research contribution includes a theorized two-part role for NAOs associated with managing situational learning on behalf of the network and a proposed expansion of the 4I framework that incorporates a network level of learning, organizational boundaries, and two new processes introduced as a result of the findings. Finally, the research concludes with a proposed a preliminary framework beneficial to NAO practitioners tasked with managing organizational learning in similar goal-directed network environments.
Exploring how social justice is considered in climate adaptation planning and implementation within local governments in the United States
Brousseau, Jennifer Joyce (Virginia Tech, 2023-10-11)
This dissertation investigates how social justice is considered as local governments in the United States develop and implement climate adaptation plans and is composed of an introduction (Chapter 1), three stand-alone manuscripts (Chapters 2-4), and a conclusion (Chapter 5). The introduction gives a brief overview of climate adaptation planning, the intersection of social justice and climate adaptation, and existing research about how social justice is considered as communities prepare for climate change. To conceptualize social justice throughout this dissertation, we adopt the three-dimensional theory that includes recognitional, distributional, and procedural justice. Both Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 focus on adaptation planning through a review of 101 climate adaptation, climate action, and climate resilience plans published between 2010-2021 by US municipalities. In Chapter 2, we used data from this review to understand generally how recognitional, distributional, and procedural justice were considered within these documents. In Chapter 3, we used the same data and demographic data for each community to understand trends over time and other patterns in how each type of justice was considered through a series of regressions. Chapter 4 serves as a follow-up to the adaptation plan review to understand how local governments are considering justice as they move forward and implement adaptation initiatives. We interviewed the plan leads from 25 communities that published a recent climate plan that we reviewed and asked them how their local government has considered social justice as they've implemented adaptation projects, what factors have enabled these considerations, and what challenges they've encountered. The results of these studies show that social justice is increasingly addressed in more recent climate plans, but recognitional and distributional justice are often considered more than procedural justice. Most communities we spoke with are still in the early phases of implementing these plans, and largely centered on how these municipalities have engaged marginalized individuals, with most aspiring towards empowerment but informing or consulting with residents. Our findings revealed that many opportunities remain to advance justice further, especially in how municipalities can meaningfully engage and empower marginalized residents in adaptation initiatives. The conclusion summarizes how social justice is considered in adaptation planning and implementation, as well as what gaps remain. Within this section, I reflect on my experiences as a Ph.D. student at Virginia Tech and my future goals within academia.
The influence of leadership development approaches on social capital: A mixed methods study
Burbaugh, Bradley James (Virginia Tech, 2015-06-08)
Leadership programs serve as a mechanism to develop the leadership capacity of individuals, groups, and organizations. Although considerable time and resources have been devoted to understanding the outcomes of leadership development, little time and effort has been dedicated to understanding the developmental approaches that influence the emergence of these outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore and untangle the relationships between common leadership development approaches, networking ability, and social capital outcomes. A sample of graduates from 15 agricultural-based leadership development programs, and a two-phase, convergent parallel mixed methods (QUAN + QUAL) design, were used to assess the relationships between the aforementioned constructs. Specifically, this research explored the influence of common leadership development approaches – conceptual understanding, feedback, personal growth, and skill building – on networking ability and the following dimensions of social capital: (a) groups and networks, (b) trust and solidarity, and (c) cooperation and political action. Quantitative data were collected using a cross-sectional, web-based survey (n = 231), and qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews (n =11). Equal priority was given to the quantitative and qualitative data, which was collected concurrently, analyzed independently, and mixed at the conclusions and metainference stage. The findings indicate that participation in an agricultural leadership program influences the social capital capacity of graduates by providing opportunities that facilitate the emergence of new, appropriable social networks. Through a variety of learning activities and shared experiences, participants diversify their social network and develop strong network connections. These connections, and the embedded social capital (i.e., relational) resources, are being accessed frequently for advice, information, and support. As reported by program graduates, personal growth and skill building were identified as the most influential approaches for developing leadership capacity. These approaches, which are characterized by collaborative, group learning, also had the strongest relationships with networking ability. Networking ability should be specifically targeted and included in leadership development curricula because it can influence cooperation and political action, which have been described as the highest levels of social capital. Informal learning also plays an important role in the development of trust, strong bonds, and solidarity among program participants.
Interagency Working Groups: Allegiances Across Agency Borders
Hopkins, Kathlyn J. (Virginia Tech, 2020-06-09)
This study explores interagency collaboration among agencies within the executive branch of the federal government. Given the mandate to collaborate, conveyed through the Government Results and Performance Act Modernization Act (2010), along with the well-documented institutional challenges of working across agency borders in highly bureaucratic cultures, empirical studies to advance theoretical development are much needed. Cross-boundary studies are often conducted under the umbrella of network theory; however, they have generally explored collaboration across different levels of government (i.e., Federal, state, and local), across sectors (public, private, and non-profit), and among private-sector firms. This study, while likewise exploring multi-organizational collaboration, is situated within the context of public-to-public interorganizational collaboration. The study draws from a sample of interagency groups characterized as examples of action (Agranoff, 2007), transformational (O'Toole, 2014), or orchestrated networks (Müller-Seitz, 2012; Provan and Kenis, 2008). These interagency groups were created expressly to solve a collective problem, with support from an organizing entity. This study adopts from network theory the premise that organizations purposefully working together can achieve better results jointly than independently (O'Toole, 1997; Agranoff and McGuire, 2003; Koliba, et al. 2010; Keast, et al., 2014). It also draws from the few extant empirical studies of public-public collaborative efforts (Jensen, 2017; Scott and Thomas, 2015; Fountain, 2013; Lambert, et. al, 2013; Bardach, 1998; Lynch, 1997; Raach and Kass, 1995; Guetzkow, 1950), from which I surmised that interagency collaboration might be influenced by the differing allegiances of the individual members: (a) their organizational allegiances, (b) their professional allegiances, and (c) the relational allegiances that permeate day-to-day operations and create the structures needed to sustain the group's ongoing legitimacy. As several scholars have noted, more research is needed on the motivational underpinnings of individuals within interorganizational networks (Das and Kumar, 2011; Tasselli, Kilduff and Menges, 2015); such research might advance a fundamentally new understanding of how to manage, structure and govern interorganizational networks (Provan and Lemaire, 2012). This empirical study examined the allegiances that motivated individuals within four interagency working groups to contribute to the aggressive government-wide goals mandated by GPRAMA. Using a mixed-methods approach, my study featured the use of an original survey, complemented by in-depth interviews, administered to a sample of experts. My data suggested an inverse relationship between organizational allegiance and the perceived effectiveness of interagency working group efforts. My data also suggested that the motivational value of professional allegiance varies by type of professional, that weaker allegiances may signal the willingness to compromise, that the power of relational allegiances becomes stronger over time, that relational allegiance is especially important during a change in leadership, and that conscious design of interagency working groups can promote the likelihood of successful collaborations. Through this work, I hope to contribute to the scholarship on purpose-oriented interorganizational networks, while also helping public managers to collaborate across agency borders in order to better achieve results.
A Latent Resilience Capacity: Individual and Organizational Factors Associated with Public Library Managers' Willingness to Engage in Post-Disaster Response and Recovery
Linder-Zarankin, Michal (Virginia Tech, 2017-11-17)
Despite shifts toward a more collaborative approach to emergency management, little scholarly attention has focused on the roles of local public organizations and nonprofits that do not have explicit emergency management missions in disaster response. Scholars and government officials call for identifying key local actors and developing a more collaborative emergency preparedness approaches prior to disaster situations. In practice, emergency officials seldom recognize post-disaster efforts of these local actors. Efforts to anticipate the potential decisions and actions of organizations that do not routinely deal with disasters necessitate a better understanding of how managers perceive their post-disaster related roles and what may account for such perceptions. Focusing on public libraries in the U.S., this study draws on information gathered through surveys and semi-structured interviews with library managers and directors operating in Hampton Roads, Virginia. To further investigate variations in willingness to engage in emergency response among local jurisdictions, the study explores context-related characteristics such as organizational arrangements and features of the policy environment in which library managers operate as well as factors related to individual managerial practices. The study finds that library officials' perceptions vary across libraries. Variations range from a more defensive approach to a more proactive approach. Efforts to account for the extent to which officials would be willing to engage in a more proactive approach should consider both the emergence of individual-managers' entrepreneurial spirit and their involvement in community-based disaster planning.
Making Sense of Networks: Exploring How Network Participants Understand and Use Information From Social Network Analysis
Moore, John (Virginia Tech, 2021-05-28)
Many of today's complex public issues are best addressed by multi-sectoral multi-organizational responses that include different types of organizations working together (Kettl, 2008; O'Toole, 1997). Social network analysis (SNA) of interorganizational networks has emerged as a useful tool for network managers to understand the structure and function of the complex networks in which they seek to manage (Human and Provan, 1997, 2000; Provan and Milward, 1995; Provan, Sebastian, and Milward, 1996; Provan, Veazie, Staten, and Teufel-Shone, 2005). The output of an interorganizational SNA typically provides a range of information to network managers including network plots. The network plots provide visual representations of different aspects of the network by showing the kinds of ties between the actors in the network. The information from network analyses can help network managers encourage systems thinking, see the different roles played by organizations, or identify links to outside resources among many other uses, but "will only have practical value to communities if it can be effectively presented, discussed, accepted, and acted on by community leaders and network participants [emphasis added]." (Provan et al., 2005, p. 610). However, little is currently known about if or how the information embedded in network plots is accepted or acted on by network participants. The visual representations of the network (network plots) provided to network participants following a SNA are often open to a range of interpretations that may or may not align with the findings of the analyst or the intended use by network managers, raising many interesting questions. Little is currently known about how differently situated network participants might interpret the same network plots differently. Nor do we understand what factors might influence different individuals or organizations to come up with different interpretations. After conducting a SNA and presenting it to network participants, I conducted interviews with a range of different representatives from participating organizations. I used a particular form of semi-structured interview, a situated micro-element interview from Dervin's Sense Making Methodology (SMM) (Dervin, Foreman-Wernet, and Lauterbach, 2003). I then analyzed the interview transcripts using standard qualitative coding methods (Bailey, 2007) to see if themes emerged that addressed the research questions. I found that most informants had trouble extracting information and meaning from their examination of the plots without that meaning and interpretation being provided by the expert analyst. I posit some potential explanations for why that might be so in the case I studied. I then turn to some interesting methodological considerations that emerged from taking the perspectives of network participants seriously. Finally, I synthesize the subject area and methodological findings into a refined framework for sense-making around network plots and offer propositions and potential approaches for future research.
Meaningful Engagement: Exploring More Inclusive Local Stakeholder Engagement in the Chesapeake Bay Program
Showalter, Amy Laurel (Virginia Tech, 2021-11-16)
This thesis explores stakeholder engagement in complex networked governance and adaptive management structures. It analyzes the adaptive capacity, multi-level learning, and stakeholder engagement and inclusion processes organizations engaged in transboundary environmental planning employ for effective governance. Over the last few decades, networked governance and adaptive management have become increasingly popular within natural resource management, while public demand for and expectations of stakeholder engagement within government funded programs has grown. There is a need to better understand networked governance arrangements' structures and strategies for local stakeholder engagement, and how these structures and strategies support inclusive determination and implementation of regional planning and funding priorities. Research for this project involved a qualitative study of local stakeholder engagement within the Chesapeake Bay Program using document analysis and semi-structured interviews of Bay Program staff, advisory committee members, and partners. This paper finds that inclusive stakeholder engagement, practiced in both episodic and institutionalized forms, is critical to the social learning and change required for successful natural resource management within regional partnerships. Networked governance arrangements can strategically employ engagement practices that create spaces for network and social learning and increase diversity through inclusion. Informal subnetworks play a key role in developing new engagement strategies (e.g., trusted sources) and preparing organizations for change (e.g., alternative decision-making methods). This research makes the following recommendations for stakeholder engagement: prioritize DEIJ in engagement design; identify engagement goals, values, and roles; strengthen networks to support diversity in participation and inclusion; create mechanisms to operationalize engagement learning; and regularly evaluate engagement practices.
Measuring Effectiveness in the Domestic Intelligence Community: Taking a Configurational Approach to Explain Organizational Outcomes in the National Network of Fusion Centers
Coffey, Andrew Francis (Virginia Tech, 2015-06-10)
This dissertation examines organizational level outcomes within a whole network--the national network of fusion centers. Fusion centers are state and local organizations that fuse threat-related intelligence and information by working with federal, state, and local law enforcement as well as other security partners in the public and private sectors. This research will ask why outcomes at the fusion center level vary within the network by exploring unique configurations of conditions at multiple levels of analysis. The results of the research will present evidence that suggests whole network effectiveness cannot be fully comprehended without first examining sub-network level impacts, such as the training or experience of analysts, organizational capacities, and the roles of relationships between network actors. This line of inquiry has ramifications for inter-organizational network theory building because it will demonstrate the individual importance of these factors, and how they interact with other factors at multiple levels within a network to influence outcomes. For practitioners in the domestic intelligence community this research will provide important insights and present paths taken by organizations in a national network to achieve a desired or undesired outcome.
Mission impossible? Routinizing the anticipation of emergent collaboration in disaster management networks: A study of emergence in the COVID-19 pandemic
McKeague, Lauren Kelly (Virginia Tech, 2022-08-23)
When disasters occur, new or informal groups often emerge to assist with the response or have resources that can aid professional disaster managers involved in the crisis. Historically, incorporating these groups into the formal disaster response system under conditions of urgency and uncertainty has been difficult. This mixed-methods, three-article dissertation explores two cases of interorganizational collaboration in which public administrators working to manage the COVID-19 pandemic facilitated and integrated emergent actor participation in the response. The findings of the study point to the potential for disaster managers to routinize the anticipation of emergence by considering those organizations that may be best positioned to facilitate different emergent actors, ways of engaging them before crises occur, and mechanisms that might break down barriers to formal/informal responder collaboration during an acute response. The results of this study have implications for public administration, interorganizational collaboration, and disaster management.
Multi-Level Cultures and Public Employee Work Motivation: Focusing on Executive Agency Policy in South Korea
Hur, Seunguk (Virginia Tech, 2015-07-10)
In contrast to the decline of New Public Management (NPM) in many countries, reports on executive agency policy in Korea point to its success. To explore why it has been successful, this study investigates the relationship between multi-level culture and work motivation (i.e., job satisfaction and organizational commitment). This study develops a multi-level framework and examines direct, moderating, and varying contextual effects in the relationships among organizational cultures (clan, adhocracy, market, and hierarchy), individual perceptions of organizational culture, and work motivation, using survey data from 1,535 public employees in 46 executive agencies in Korea and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). Key findings include, first, clan, adhocracy, market, and hierarchy organizational cultures all have positive associations with organizational commitment; however, individual perceptions of organizational market and hierarchy cultures are negatively related to organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Second, market and hierarchy cultures have positive varying contextual effects in relationships with organizational commitment. Third, organizational culture has more explanatory power than individual perceptions of organizational culture. Finally, efforts to develop and sustain balanced organizational culture evidently led to the success of the executive agency system in Korea. The findings support the argument that NPM reforms need to be examined through the lens of a multi-level culture and balanced culture perspective.
An Organizational Analysis of Publishing the People's Code
Castle, Joseph Roland (Virginia Tech, 2020-05-01)
Publishing software publicly is a new phenomenon for U.S. federal government agencies. In August 2016, the White House issued the Federal Source Code Policy: Achieving Efficiency, Transparency, and Innovation through Reusable and Open Source Software (FSCP). The FSCP mandated Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act agencies to publish at least 20% of their custom developed code as open source software (OSS). The federal government has the responsibility to account for public spending, including spending for IT. The publication of OSS is one way the public can know about government spending. OSS additionally benefits the public by providing access to code, thus, making it the "People's Code." From 2016 to 2019, the progress of CFO Act agencies in implementing the policy was mixed. This study examines whether and how organizational theoretical variables – cultural beliefs, public engagement, structural dimensions, and organizational location – affect policy implementation. The study uses the publication of OSS as an indicator of effective policy implementation, and it identifies the factors that hinder or aid publishing OSS. Using metadata collected from GitHub's application programming interface (API), I created a sampling frame that included 23 of 24 executive agencies publishing OSS before and after the FSCP was published. From the sampling frame, 25 participants from 20 agencies agreed to participate in the study. These participants were from software development units that minimally, moderately, or frequently published OSS. The sample consisted of participants from units mostly located outside a Chief Information Officer (CIO) office focused on software development and data science activities. Grounded theory provided an approach for data collection with elite interviews and artifact gathering allowing for analysis in an iterative, comparative manner for generating a theory of policy implementation for OSS publication. Units more frequently published OSS when they expressed non-monolithic and advantageous cultural beliefs; practiced more and more varied public engagement through bi-directional communication, events, and electronic tools; had structures with less centralization, more formalization, more differentiation, and more coordination; and were located in the "middle" of organizations with fewer hierarchical layers. Additionally, some units expressed both cautionary and advantageous cultural beliefs suggesting beliefs alone are not enough to allow units to publish OSS. This study contributes to policy, public administration, and organization theory literatures. It enhances scholarship by examining a new phenomenon and aids practitioners by providing implications for consideration when implementing policy.
Organizational Collaborative Motivations and Purpose-oriented Networks: Linking Organizational Theories with Network Characteristics
Yang, Huishan (Virginia Tech, 2023-02-20)
With the significant growth of purpose-oriented networks in the realm of public affairs, the challenges for public and nonprofit organizations in deciding which networks to engage with have also increased. This work explores whether organizations with different collaborative motivations prefer networks with different sets of characteristics. By bridging organizational theory and social network literatures, this study proposes a conceptual framework regarding the connections between organizational collaborative motivations and network characteristics. The conceptual framework is then further investigated using a two-phase exploratory sequential mixed-methods design and data from both local and statewide public and nonprofit organizations with experience working in networks. The first phase is a qualitative exploration of the conceptual framework using interview data, and the second phase draws on survey data and crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis (cs-QCA) to refine the theoretical framework. The two-phase study indicates that organizations with different collaborative motivations indeed prefer different kinds of networks. The results also identify multiple pathways for each motivation and which network characteristics need to be combined for each motivation, as well as offer some universal combinations that work for different motivations. The findings are valuable for both network managers' efforts in recruiting members and public and nonprofit organization managers' attempts at seeking beneficial collaborations.
Organizing Freedom: Collaboration Between the Freedmen's Bureau and Church-Supported Charitable Organizations in the Early Years of Reconstruction
Lee, Kimberly Taylor (Virginia Tech, 2019-07-18)
This case study examines why the Freedmen's Bureau, a Federal agency that existed within the War Department between 1865 and 1872, formed collaborative relationships with church-supported charitable organizations to establish schools during the Civil War Reconstruction Period in Virginia. This project examines the relationships between Freedmen's Bureau officials and the leadership of church-supported charitable organizations. Specifically, this project examines the formation of these relationships, the nature of the relationships that formed, the norms and values that shaped the relationships, and the impact those relationships had on education policy in the South. The examination of a historical federal agency through archival research methods generated findings that were consistent with current knowledge of the collaborative process. Preexisting relationships formed during the Civil War served as the foundation for collaborative relationships that formed between the Bureau and church-supported charitable organizations. These relationships were integral to the formation of schools that served formerly enslaved persons as well as other war refugees. Ultimately, political and social pressure facilitated the closing of the Bureau, but the schools remained, forming the foundation for public school systems throughout the South. Examining an extinct agency which worked alongside church-supported charitable organizations, shows that facets of collaborative governance occurred much earlier than presently identified, especially as it pertains to discrete steps in the collaboration process, specifically antecedent and initial conditions of collaboration, pre-existing relationships, and impacts of collaboration. The project also adds to the study of public administration as a field by extending the timeline of the practice of public administration. This dissertation also adds to the scholarship on the impact of race on policy implementation and administrative practice.
Over the River and Through the Woods: Examining the Relationship between Network Structure, Collaboration and Geography
Edwards, Jaimie Elizabeth (Virginia Tech, 2020-06-04)
This dissertation analyzes the relationship between network structure, collaboration, and geography among food security organizations in the New River Valley of Virginia. As a way to better understand how purpose-oriented, service-delivery networks, this case study of the Thrive network examines the relationship between geography and collaboration. The food security organizations within the region were mapped to determine the structure of the network and data was compared to the geography of the region. The findings suggest that food security organizations do find geography as a barrier to collaboration in three ways. First, these organizations see geography as a cost to collaboration due to the increased need for logistics and resources. Second, geography creates interorganizational political and cultural boundaries. Third, many food security organizations view geography as a barrier to collaboration in terms of its relationship between the organization and its clients. Organizations that saw value in collaboration between organizations within the network found ways to overcome the barriers of geography.
Patient-centric care in the U.S. - A comparative study of patient satisfaction and quality care among for-profit physician-owned, corporate-owned, and not-for-profit hospitals
Sharma, Arun (Virginia Tech, 2018-10-12)
This dissertation examines the effects of physician ownership of hospitals on the quality of patient-centric care in the U.S. The health care sector in the U.S. is becoming more aligned with markets and in turn, with consumers’ preferences. In consumer driven service industries, consumer satisfaction is considered a key criterion to judge quality. In the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) patient satisfaction surveys, physician-owned hospitals (POHs) get more top 5-Star ratings than other hospitals. However, it is not known whether higher perceived patient satisfaction is because of better inpatient experience or due to better health related outcomes. Ratings also do not clarify variations between specialty and general service POHs. The study compares the quality of care in POHs with that in other major forms of hospitals (corporate-owned, and not-for-profit). The Affordable Care Act (ACA) regulated physician ownership of hospitals due to concerns that physicians’ profit motive might negatively affect the quality of care. This non-experimental study used bivariate and multivariate analyses to examine variation in the quality of care among types of hospitals in 2017 and 2018 using patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes as indicators of quality. This study used two samples, a full and a restricted sample. Full sample compared all POHs (specialty and general service) with other hospitals. Restricted sample included only general service hospitals. Patients in POHs were found to have higher perceived satisfaction, and viewed providers’ practices more favorably in the full sample. In the restricted sample, however, not-for-profit (NFP) hospitals provided relatively better care. Corporate-owned hospitals had lowest patient satisfaction and poorest outcomes. Results indicate POHs are competitive with not-for-profit hospitals on patient satisfaction dimension of quality care. Multivariate analyses suggest that the effects of physician ownership go away when mediation by providers’ practices is considered. NFP hospitals, however, continue to provide better overall value of care. The results do not support reconsideration of the ACA restrictions on POHs. Patient satisfaction may be contingent upon patient-centric practices than type of hospital, but hospital ownership may affect preference for some practices over others. Outcomes may not matter when patients’ perceptions measure quality.
Portfolio
Luu, Tiffany Diep (Virginia Tech, 2014-05-14)
This site was created to fulfill graduation requirements for my Master's of Public Administration at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. My e-portfolio is a multi-dimensional collection of the work I have completed over the years as a graduate student. This e-portfolio showcases the deliverables I have created for my courses in public policy, public management, and public service. In addition, you will also find some of the deliverables I have developed and created as a GIS Technician and Project Management Assistant to a broadband consulting firm. Please use the tabs provided to get to know me and the work that I have completed in my pursuit to become a public servant.

Browsing by Author "Lemaire, Robin Hargroder"

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